This is to notify you that campaign has officially ended.
Over the last few months , we have allowed the public to evaluate our chosen Presidential candidate – Peter Obi of Labour party. We have promoted Peter Obi using our individual resources. Peter Obi is not a Saint but at this period of our history, we need a man of character that has shown competency and capacity to deliver on common public goods . No doubt , Peter Obi has been divinely chosen and what God does not know ,does not exist .
Tomorrow Presidential election is between the people and the political jobbers who have been feeding fat with our common wealth. Tomorrow,the people have a choice to make ! To choose between political slavery and political freedom .
Good Governance Ministry (GGM) will continue to serve public interest and will sustain political education even after this general election. GGM will continue with the message of political freedom via BVI Channel 1 as well as economic liberation through Good Governance Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd .
Finally , when the wicked and selfish political elites fail you , GGM will give you succour .
The presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has raised the alarm over alleged plans by some elements in the All Progressives Congress (APC) to foment violence in a few states in order to force the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone Saturday’s election.
He added that the alternative plan was to hold a staggered election whereby elections would not be held simultaneously across the country.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the PDP presidential candidate, warned that failure to hold elections on the same day across the country would be an invitation to rigging.
He added that the violence in Kano was a prelude to this plan.
The statement read, “Today, there was serious violence at the Kwanar Dangora on the outskirts of Kano City. This is a state where the APC holds sway. They have already started with the violence as they did in 2019, where they forced a rerun and then used violence to win.
We also have it on good authority that this will happen in Borno, Yobe and Kaduna. Kaduna, in particular, must be singled out because the Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has been prodding his people to disobey President Muhammadu Buhari. He has also been running from pillar to post since his plan to unleash the old naira notes on voters was scuttled by the Federal Government.”
He also commended the Nigeria Police Force for arresting and arraigning APC federal lawmaker in Rivers State, Hon. Ephraim Nwuzi, who was caught on video discussing plans to attack electoral officials in the state.
The PDP candidate asked the police not to leave any stone unturned ahead of the election, especially in Rivers State, which is one of the most volatile during elections.
He added, “We commend the police for arresting and arraigning the lawmaker representing Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon Ephraim Nwuzi. His utterance is evidence that the APC has a grand plan to foment violence on the election day. This is their only strategy to hold on to power after failing Nigerians.”
He also asked the police to pay close attention to states like Ebonyi, Cross River, and Imo states where the governors are bent on doing anything possible to ensure that Tinubu gets the 25 per cent requirement.
“Ebonyi, Cross River, and Imo are all traditional PDP strongholds. However, their governors are members of the APC. They know that they cannot deliver their states for Bola Tinubu, who stands no chance of winning. With vote buying now very difficult, the only option will be to suppress votes through violence.
The police, the military, and other security agencies must therefore keep an eye on these states in order to prevent violence,” he said.
The PDP candidate, who commended deployment of sizeable number of security agents in Lagos, said local government areas such as Oshodi/Isolo, Amuwo Odofin, Eti Osa, Ikorodu, Ojo, Ajeromi/Ifelodun and Surulere must be put on high alert to forestall intimidation and rigging.
There have been complaints about voter suppression in Lagos in the past. In the 2019 presidential election, Oshodi/Isolo witnessed violence, which forced elections to be cancelled in some polling units. Even in Eti Osa today, a council secretary and traditional leader vowed to evict traders if they don’t vote for the APC.
“They are doing this to impress their master and godfather, Bola Tinubu, and we hope the international observers are seeing this. We commend the police for summoning those behind the threats against non-indigenes. But more efforts must be channelled towards arresting more of such bigots,” he stated.
Finland authorities on Thursday arrested a man said to be a Nigerian popular separatist agitator, Simon Ekpa.
According to a Finland news outlet HS, the police escorted the separatist out of his apartment in Lahti.
The platform claimed that they had gone to Ekpa’s residence for an interview but to their surprise, the Finland police, KRP, answered when the HS team rang the separatist bell.
The HS said the KRP prevented their team from entering Ekpa’s apartment and said that the interview would be moved “to the future”.
As of the time of this report, we can’t independently confirm Ekpa’s arrest.
Anambra State based Lawyers from Abakaliki, Ebonyi state, under the aegis of Anambra based Abakaliki Lawyers Association, have expressed shock over the social media trending news linked to Princess Nkiruka Nwode, a Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, ZPPRO, Zone 13 Police Command Headquarters, Ukpo, Anambra state on human Rights abuses including kidnapping and harvesting of human organs .
The Lawyers Group stated that those behind this unfortunate social media reports made a deliberate efforts to assassinate the untainted and excellent public records of our dear sister and will surely fail and ultimately be exposed . They said they were shocked because they knew Princess Nwode as one of the Police Officers who does not compromise investigations, as well as one who has been policing with integrity . ” We were reliably informed that Princess Nkiru is presently investigating a high profile crime before the blackmailers went to work to disrupt and interrupt the ongoing investigation headed by Princess Nkiru Nwode”
Chairman of the association, Barr. Victor Alo who stated this in a press statement he issued yesterday in Onitsha, said they were surprised that Princess Nwode who is not attached to Rapid Response Squad, RRS could be involved in such a weighty allegation.
Alo insisted that Princess is ” too” clean to be associated with such news report which has gone viral on social media .He further challenged those behind the deadly allegation to come out from hiding and forward a detailed petition to reputable human Right Lawyers with the names of the victims .
Barr Ilo advised Police Command to flush out bad eggs in police force damaging the badly battered reputation of the force and protect police officers with good track records.From all available records ,Princess Nkiru Nwode represents the image of any decent organization and deserves to be protected by both the police authority, Government and the public ,Barr Ilo concluded.
The statement further commended the Police High Command for setting up special investigation panel to unravel the level of involvement of the mentioned Officers . The Lawyers Group said that they will activate full legal option ,if need be, to defend the rights of Princess Nkiru Nwode.
Less than 24 hours after the African Democratic Congress, ADC, collapsed it’s structure to support the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, another party has declared their support for Peter Obi.
The party, known as Boot Party (BP) announced the collapse of it’s structure into the Labour Party on Tuesday in Lagos.
A delegation of the party’s national leadership met with the delegates of LP leadership, in a meeting chaired by PA Ayo Adebanjo in his Lekki, Lagos home.
The Labour Party Governorship candidate for Lagos staete, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour was also in attendance to receive the Boot Party team.
The party which has strong footing in the South West and some parts of the North assured of their resolve to pull efforts and resources to deliver votes for Peter Obi.
Also present were fmr Deputy Governor of Lagos state (under Tinubu) Mrs. Akerele Bucknor and the Party candidates for Governor in Lagos State, Wale Oluwo.
Violent protest rocked Sagamu, Ogun State, on Monday morning as angry youths burnt down branches of Union and Keystone banks in the town.
The protest attributed to the naira scarcity had begun in front of the palace of the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, with some youths barricading roads and setting bonfire.
Last Friday, protesters barricaded the Mowe area of the State over naira scarcity in the state.
The protest has now shifted to Sagamu where angry youths have caused unrest and thrown the town into chaos.
However, a youth leader in the town, Kayode Segun-Okeowo, described the act as a “motivated destruction and not a protest.”
This is not a protest. I’m a comrade and understand the ABC of protest. It is motivated to cause destruction. Those behind this must stop,” he told Daily Trust in a telephone interview.
He also confirmed that two commercial banks were set on fire.
On Sunday, the Police Command alleged that some individuals were planning to cause a breach of public peace in the State by taking undue advantage of the lingering cash and fuel scarcity in the nation.
The command said it had an intelligence report that those planning the mayhem may attack banks and other public and private infrastructures in the State.
The police spokesman in Ogun, Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed this to newsmen in Abeokuta on Sunday.
He revealed that the Commissioner of Police, Frank Mba, spoke at a confidence-building patrol conducted by the police and other security forces on Saturday.
Oyeyemi said Mba, who commended the residents of the State for their resilience and peaceful conduct in the face of the biting economic challenges, assured residents of the command’s resolve to protect lives and property.
“The CP further noted that intelligence at the disposal of the Command indicates that some criminal elements are planning to take advantage of the challenging economic situation to disrupt the peace being enjoyed in the State,” Oyeyemi said.
He said the CP warned that the police would not fold its arms and allow criminals to hide under any guise “to unleash mayhem on residents, private and public property, and critical national infrastructure, including banks and offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”
A federal high court sitting in Lagos has barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from engaging the services Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, chairman of the Lagos parks and garages, for the distribution of election materials and ad-hoc staff in the state.
Chukwujekwu Aneke, presiding judge, made the order on Monday, in a suit filed by the Labour Party.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had said that they will be using the transporters led by MC Oluomo to distribute election materials because the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) is an illegal organisation in the state.
Justice Aneke made the order, while granting an an exparte application brought by Labour Party and five others.
The applicants had sought for an interlocutory injunction restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission, whether by itself or by its officers, affiliates, servants, privies or agents or any person acting or purporting to act for and on behalf howsoever from taking any steps or further steps whatsoever in furtherance of the engagement or appointment or consummating the appointment of Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo led Lagos State Parks Management Committee or any of its commercial bus drivers to distribute 2023 election materials and personnel in Lagos State pending the hearing and determination the substantive suit.
On Saturday, 25 February, 2023, Nigerians will vote in an election to select the successor to the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari. This will be the seventh consecutive cycle of presidential elections since the country returned to civil rule in May 1999; the 10th since the onset of the presidential system of government in 1979.
Nigeria’s start to the presidential system of government by no means auspicious. The military supervised the first ballot in August 1979, which installed Shehu Shagari as Nigeria’s first elected president. The election ended up before the Supreme Court, establishing what would become a tradition of what the Economist delicately called ‘democracy by court orders.’
Four years later, on the last day of December 1983, soldiers led by one Muhammadu Buhari, then a Major-General in the Nigerian Army, overthrew the government, a mere three months after the inauguration of a second term following Shagari’s re-election in August 1983.
In June 1993, following a ten year-long interregnum of military rule, Nigeria’s generals, this time led by Ibrahim Babangida – a self-styled military president – nullified the outcome of the third presidential ballot, won by businessman, Moshood Abiola.
A six year-long hiatus ensued at the end of which the country returned eventually to government founded on electoral legitimacy in 1979. The credibility of elections since then have been uneven, with a nadir reached in 2007, when then chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Maurice Iwu, in a conspiracy with then outgoing president, Olusegun Obasanjo, conjured up fictional numbers to install Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as president in an election described by Foreign Affairs as “excessively rigged.”
Acutely embarrassed by how he came into office, President Yar’Adua established an inquiry into the election that brought him to power. Chaired by a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Uwais, the panel established the existence of twin cultures of violence and election rigging that characterized elections in Nigeria, underscoring the origins of the perennial whiff of political illegitimacy that has dogged government and leadership in the country for a long time. Since then, the conduct of elections in Nigeria has made only marginal progress.
By 2011, a new chairman of the INEC, Attahiru Jega, began reforms designed to close the loopholes that made election rigging such profitable enterprise in Nigeria. Under him, the INEC established a baseline election register in 2011, which helped to reduce the number of elections that ended up before election petition tribunals by nearly half. Jega improved voter identification with the introduction of a permanent voters’ card (PVC). Voting administration improved to the extent that in 2015, the presidential election went unchallenged and the proportion of elections challenged in court dropped for the first time in Nigeria’s history beneath 50% of the contested seats.
Many of these gains were frittered away by the current leadership of INEC in 2019, resulting in a rise in election petitions to the scale seen in 2011 but an unusual confluence of factors make the 2023 elections arguably the most unique in Nigeria’s history of presidential elections, presenting the country with an opportunity that could be positive or not depending on how it harnesses some factors.
First, this the first election in Nigeria in which the military will not be on the ballot or in the background as such. Muhammadu Buhari, a retired two-star general, who is term-limited, will be in May 2023, bringing the curtains down on a long and chequered line of soldiers at the highest levels of politics and state-craft in Nigeria. This record is at best undistinguished and has left the country in many ways worse off than when the soldiers first arrived on the scene in 1966. Of the soldiers who were on the scene in 1966, Buhari is the last to leave the public stage at the end of nearly six decades of unbroken dominance of Nigeria’s public space. The symbolic retirement of this generation could mark the beginning of a genuine search by the country for more deliberative solutions to nation building where in the past the military had favoured solutions that lay in the barrel of the gun.
Second, 2023 will mark the first time in a quarter of a century that the leading candidate in a Nigerian presidential election is not a soldier and the first in two decades in which Muhammadu Buhari will not be on the ballot. The question has always been asked whether Buhari’s cult following in the North could find a new home when he eventually quits office. In these upcoming elections, those who ask this question will hopefully find their answers. The upshot is that Buhari’s traditional strongholds in north-west and north-east Nigeria will witness a huge contest between the leading candidates to claim the mantle of successor to his electoral magic. It is well possible that these regions could hold the key to the outcome if the vote is credible.
Third, with the three main candidates representing the three major regions at Independence – one from the East, another from the West and another from the Northern region – 2023 marks a return to the original fault-lines that were present at the creation of Nigeria or a return of tri-podal politics in Nigeria. This on its own could be challenging for the country and one question to be answered in this election could be whether the country has the imagination and resilience to find pathways beyond these traditional fissures.
Fourth, 2023 appears to be the first time in which polling is a significant factor in the narrative of the campaigns. One of the most recent polls appeared willing to wager on conclusions despite a cumulative 53% of respondents who were either undecided or refused to disclose their voting intentions. Another one chose its polling sample from a demographic 2,384 owners of smartphones in a country in which only about 44% reportedly own such a device. Yet another concluded, despite high rates of undecided and unwilling respondents, that a presidential run-off is likely. Despite valiant efforts by wannabe pollsters, what seems clear is that the methodology of both sampling and extrapolations by most of the polls have been characterized by a rather uneven quality and, in many cases it seems also, by a confirmation bias.
Fifth, in these elections, the INEC proposes to deploy the Bi-Modal Voter Accreditation System, B-VAS, as its solution to Nigeria’s history of data-free voting. The B-VAS device accredits voters, counts them, and can digitally transmit the results from a polling unit to the INEC central collation. The result transmission capability of B-VAS is, however, substantially dependent on the existence of broadband infrastructure, which cannot be guaranteed in nearly half of the landmass of Nigeria. Where there is broadband hunger, then it requires safe and secure transportation to a location that offers broadband. With underlying insecurity, the promise of the B-VAS as the cure-all solution to election malpractice in Nigeria may be more bluster than believable.
These factors may shape the underlying landscape of balloting and outcomes but they by no means exhaust the factors that make the forthcoming vote so unique in Nigeria’s history. Not to be forgotten is the reality of widespread violence all over the country which has blighted campaigning in many places and is likely to make voting, counting, and collation quite hazardous in many parts of the country. President Buhari is already a huge factor in the ballot with his insistence that the Central Bank’s currency reform should carry forward through the election season. The voting will take place in an atmosphere of hardship and restiveness. The last man standing after all have fallen prey to the starvation of cash could well be declared winner.
A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu
In a gallant display, a combined team of the police and army in Anambra State, have neutralised 5-member gang of the dreaded unknown gunmen that attempted to destroy one of their facilities.
JOURNALIST101 gathered that the gang stormed the 33 Police Divisional Headquarters, Nkwelle-Ezunaka, Oyi LGA about 5am on Sunday with petrol bombs and other explosive device.
The security team that responding to a distress call, gave a good account of themselves but a police officer was fatally hit during the gun duel.
Confirming the attack, the Anambra State Police Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu said Ak47 riffles, vehicle, charms and other items where recovered from the gunmen.
The Combined security team, made up of the Police and the military, today 19/2/2023 by 5:58 am, neutralized a gang of five armed men, recovered two Ak47 rifles, one Toyota Sienna vehicle with Reg No Abuja ABC 848 EQ, charms and other incriminating items, in response to a distress call on an attack at 33 Police Divisional Headquarters, Nkwelle-Ezunaka, Oyi LGA.
The notorious gang of five, armed with guns, IEDs, and petrol bombs, started shooting indiscriminately to gain entrance to the station but were engaged and resisted by gallant officers attached to the station.
“During the gun duel, unfortunately, one police operative attached to the station was fatally wounded and an office in the facility was partially affected by the petrol bomb the armed men threw inside the station.
“Also, one patrol vehicle parked in front of the station was set ablaze by the gunmen.
The situation is under control and the incident is still being assessed. Meanwhile, Joint operations are still ongoing and further development shall be communicated, please.
State Broadcast by Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, 16th February 2023.
My dear people of Kaduna State,
1. With just about 100 days before leaving office, and elections just round the corner, it was my intention to host another media chat to interact with the people of our state in the next few days. While I still hope to do so, I feel the need to address you all today due to the unprecedentedly cruel situation our people and their livelihoods have been thrown into, particularly in the last two to three weeks by the decisions, actions and inactions of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
2. On behalf of the government of Kaduna State, I wish to express my deepest regret at the needless suffering you are enduring as a result of the prolonged fuel shortage and the difficulties occasioned by the so-called “currency redesign” policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria. We understand your pain. I assure you that as your State Governor, I have been working with my other colleagues to do everything in our power to end these pains.
3. While publicly supporting what appeared to be a beneficial policy, we innocently engaged privately with the President and the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria to review the implementation of the policy so as to reduce its negative impact on the lives and livelihoods of our people, and end the pain being inflicted on citizens. In the absence of any progress to modify implementation on the part of the architects, we were forced to go public about two weeks ago, with our concerns and demand that this suffering must stop.
4. We take seriously our duty to protect ordinary people from the consequences of these policy fiascos. The sad fact is that the victims of these mindless policies are the people that elected us. It is their welfare that is being threatened. Many of our people have been left in a situation where the money they put in banks has literally been confiscated, depriving them of the ability to buy food and basic necessities. Our traders cannot sell as much as they used to because their customers have no access to their hard-earned money.
5. We have been officially informed that the currency redesign policy is to reduce money laundering and render useless stashes of high denomination Naira that many politicians and public officers have accumulated through corruption and other illicit activities. As earlier stated, we are fully in support of such a policy and we made this public from the beginning.
6. We had privately expressed concerns about the timing of the currency design policy and the unrealistic timeline for its implementation. We were assured that all steps have been taken to ensure that we avoid the recent experience of India, where implementation of a similar demonetisation policy targeted at politicians ended up hurting the poorest and small businesses the most.
7. In official briefings to the President, the Central Bank of Nigeria constantly alluded to the fact that the policy also targets politicians who have accumulated a huge war chest for vote buying during the elections. It is now clear that the President has been deceived by the Central Bank of Nigeria and some elements in his government into buying into this overarching narrative, in the name of ensuring free and fair elections in 2023.
8. It is important for the people of Kaduna State, and indeed Nigeria, to know that contrary to the public pronouncements and apparent good intentions, this policy was conceived and sold to the President by officials who completely lost out in the Gubernatorial and Presidential Primaries of the APC in June 2022.
9. Once Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerged as the candidate in June 2022, and subsequently did not pick one of them as his running mate, this currency redesign policy was conceived to ensure that the APC presidential candidate is deprived of what they alleged is a humongous war chest. They also sought to achieve any one or more of following objectives:
a. Create a nationwide shortage of cash so that citizens are incited to vote against APC candidates across the board resulting in massive losses for the Party in all the elections;
b. Ensure that the cash crunch is so serious, along with the contrived and enduring fuel shortage existing since September 2022, that the 2023 Elections do not hold at all, leading to an Interim National Government to be led by a retired Army General;
c. Sustain the climate of shortage of fuel, food and other necessities, leading to mass protests, violence and breakdown of law and order that would provide a fertile foundation for a military take-over;
10. In the pursuit of these objectives, the Central Bank of Nigeria and these other disgruntled Federal officials have so far convinced the President that it is fine for ordinary citizens to be dispossessed of their hard-earned money, and starved if need be, while small and medium-sized businesses are deprived of access to their capital, thereby bringing trade and exchange to a grinding halt. All our efforts to modify implementation of the policy to avoid what we assumed were unintended consequences were unsuccessful. I chose to speak out first as one person that has been particularly close to the President, believing that his actions were motivated by innocence, and mindful of his legacy. I have no regrets for doing my duty in this regard. One day, the President will appreciate what some of us are being insulted for today.
11. Yet, the politicians that the officials have convinced the President to regard as the real targets of the currency redesign policy have not been impeded in any way by it so far. Indeed, two of the presidential candidates, and a running mate of the opposition parties own or have preferred access to some of the licensed banks. For that reason and by various clandestine arrangements, these politicians have access to hundreds of millions of these new notes, while the traders, merchants, students and other citizens are queuing for days to withdraw a few thousand Naira just to buy food and necessaries.
12. Within two to three weeks of implementation, it was clear to everyone that the architects of this policy can see that it is our people that are being terribly affected, and not the politicians. It is quite unfortunate that many politicians who either own banks or have privileged access to money are so insulated from the pains of talakawa that they are recklessly endorsing a policy that is being badly implemented.
13. I am referring here to the comments by the candidate of one of the opposition parties who expressed opposition to the recommendation first of the APC state governors, and subsequently of all the governors under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors Forum that the implementation timeline be extended, to enable the old and new notes to be legal tender side by side until the cash shortage ends.
14. My dear people of Kaduna State. Let me explain how the architects of this policy intentionally designed it to fail. The total currency in circulation in Nigeria was estimated at N3.2 trillion at the end of 2022. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, N2.1 trillion has been withdrawn as at early February. The CBN claimed that N700bn is the amount of cash needed for their functioning vision of a “cash-less” Nigerian economy. The Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Dr. Doyin Salami disagrees with this estimate, and believes at least N2 trillion of currency needs to be in circulation for our economic sustainability. Other experts variously estimate this to be between N1.2 trillion and above, so the CBN number of N700bn is not realistic.
15. The CBN informed the President at the very beginning that the Mint (NSPMC) has enough capacity to print the needed currency in circulation within the 6-week timeframe for the so-called ‘cash swap’. By its own admission, only N400bn worth of new notes had been printed for CBN as at early February.The current cash shortage was therefore designed from the beginning, the President was lied to about the domestic capacity of the Mint to print, and even if the announced N700bn was printed, it would have been grossly inadequate anyway. Imagine then printing only N400bn, and making most of it unavailable to the banks but passed to favoured entities through special arrangements. How can the CBN collect N2.1 trillion from citizens and print only N400bn? Is this not a clear case of economic sabotage?
16. It is bad economics to so curtail economic activity and the velocity of circulation of money. It is also insensitive to deliberately cause cash shortage and then seek to instigate the public against the mostly innocent commercial banks. Even the most honest and prudent action by banks cannot magically make N400bn to look like N2.1 trillion, or have the same spread and availability like the CBN should have ensured. As a regulator, the CBN should not be seen to be setting up the banking sector as the public enemy to cover up the glaring failure in its design and implementation of the cash swap policy.
17. We have repeatedly appealed to the Federal Government to allow whatever remains of the old notes to circulate concurrently with the new notes. We recommended that the Federal Government should also hasten to ensure that more of the new notes are printed and brought into circulation. We thought that if the Nigerian Mint is incapable of printing the volume of cash needed as it appears, then necessary steps must urgently be taken to get a reliable supply source.
18. There is no reason why the old notes and the new notes should not coexist until the old notes are gradually withdrawn over the years as is done in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and other countries. It is unfortunate that in implementing this policy, Nigeria is departing from global best practise, without any compelling justification. The Kaduna State Government did all these, not in opposition to any person or authority, but because we stand with our people and their interests.
19. When it was clear that our recommendations will not be seriously considered, the Kaduna State Government decided, along with the governments of Kogi and Zamfara States to declare a dispute with the Federal Government. In line with the provisions of the Constitution, we approached the Supreme Court of Nigeria to invoke its original jurisdiction to hear us and the cries of our people. The Court did on February 8th, and ordered that the deadline of February 10th for all the ‘old’ notes ceasing to be legal tender be rescinded until the determination of the suit. This ruling applies to the Federal Government and its agencies like the CBN, and all commercial banks! We are grateful to the Court for this ruling, and we had hoped that compliance by the CBN and the banks would bring relief to our people. It is now clear that the architects of this policy are determined to continue to inflict maximum pain on the citizens to achieve their objectives outlined earlier.
20. It was our hope that the Federal Government of Nigeria would welcome this injunction as an opportunity to mitigate the needless human suffering being experienced and correct its course on this matter. There is no emergency situation that justifies the rushed and seemingly deliberate incompetent execution of this policy. We suggested that compliance with the ruling would include adopting a whole-of-government approach, that involves the agencies of the federal and state governments in modifying the design, execution the implementation of the currency redesign policy.
21. Even when confronted with the facts above, the CBN and its masters remain determined to implement their agenda no matter how much human suffering, death and destruction results. It is clear that the architects of this policy always had objectives that are totally in conflict with public interest, peace and the unity of Nigeria. They neither considered our suggestions in line with the Court order, nor respected the unanimous resolution of the Council of State.
22. It is also quite revealing that the Federal Government and its agencies not only disobeyed the February 8th ruling by continuing to say the February 10th deadline stands. It is shocking to see the blatant violation of the subsisting and continuing order of the Supreme Court that ALL the old and new notes should continue to be legal tender until it gives judgment in the case filed by the Kaduna State Government along with several others.
23. The address by the President earlier this morning limiting the legal tender status of old notes to only N200 amounts to total disregard and disobedience of the ruling of February 8th which was extended further yesterday by the Supreme Court. The misguided action of the Attorney-General to mislead the President into engaging in this public violation of the order of the highest court of the land shows how desperate the policy architects are to cause national chaos, by showing open contempt for the judiciary.
24. The decision to recognise only N200 as legal tender till April that the President announced this morning was offered to the state governments as part of proposals for an out-of-court settlement three days ago. The Federal Government asserted that this was offered because all the ‘old’ N1,000 and N500 notes had been destroyed. We rejected the offer and proved to the officials that not a single higher denomination note had been destroyed. We also believe that circulating N200 only to be inadequate in alleviating the suffering that we see every day. We insisted that all the components of the Supreme Court order should be complied with.
25. But back home, what do we do in Kaduna State? My dear of people of Kaduna State, with the foregoing revelations, it is clear that our peaceful coexistence as a state, and a nation, is being placed under deliberate danger using the intentional combination of fuel and cash supply disruptions. These evil people using the instrumentality of the Federal Government and the President as convenient covers are willing to truncate our democracy because they have personally lost out. They are massively deploying resources and tools to defeat the political party that gave us the platform to serve the country just because they could not impose the candidates of their choice. Let us not help them
26. Let us stay calm and peaceful, and support the lawful means being utilised to solve our problems. On behalf of the Kaduna State Government, I wish to assure you that none of you would lose the money you have in old notes. Let no artificial and illegal deadline frighten you. Whether you live in towns, villages or in our isolated rural communities, do not feel stampeded to deposit your old notes in the banks. Hold on to them. Continue to use them as legal tender as ordered by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. No deadline can render them worthless, ever. The law is on your side. The Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and the Bills of Exchange Act, both oblige the CBN to recognise your old notes and give you value in new notes whenever you bring them to the CBN, even in the next 100 years.
27. Therefore, as your governor, I wish to assure you that the Kaduna State Government, in collaboration with elected legislators, traditional institution, elected local government councils, markets, and traders associations will help you collect, record, document, collate and deliver all your old notes to the Kaduna branch of the Central Bank on your behalf into the new ones immediately after the elections. We will also ensure the delivery of your new notes to your various locations without any hardship or expense on your part. We shall save you any panic and the stress of a long journey from your community to the CBN office in our state capital, from March until December 2023 if need be.
28. For the avoidance of doubt, all the old and new notes shall remain in use as legal tender in Kaduna State until the Supreme Court of Nigeria decides otherwise. I therefore appeal to all residents of Kaduna State to continue to use the old and new notes side by side without any fear. The Kaduna State Government and its agencies shall seal any facility that refuses to accept the old notes as legal tender and prosecute the owners. If need be, we shall take further consequential actions according to the law.
29. While urging you all not to fall for these antics of the enemies of Nigeria, please be patient and continue to exercise resilience in the face of open provocation and deliberate disinformation. We encourage you to be ready with your PVC to vote in the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections. We are doing all we can to ensure that it is peaceful, orderly and hitch-free. I appeal to you to understand the shenanigans of these unpatriotic elements in Abuja and ensure you vote massively for the intended victims of these last-minute policies of needless hardship and incitement of the citizens – our party, the APC and its candidates in all the elections.
30. The Kaduna State Government is making this appeal, and taking all these measures to shield our people from the terrible consequences of the currency redesign policy. We seek to protect our people’s hard-earned money, their ability to engage in trade and exchange and buy what they need. We also seek to protect their civic rights, liberties and freedoms under a democratic dispensation. I call on the people of Kaduna State to remain peaceful and vigilant in the face of brazen attempts to engineer crisis in order to get a pretext for unconstitutional or undemocratic actions.
31. In conclusion, our Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked me to convey his greetings, empathy and words of encouragement to the good people of Kaduna State. He urges us to remain patient, pray for our country and remain vigilant in our pursuit of Renewed Hope.
Thank you all for listening. God Bless Kaduna State. God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, CON
Kaduna, 16th February 2023
